French Alps · Winter · Courchevel 1850
Les Airelles Courchevel, the chalet Raymonde Fenestraz imagined
After dusk, the glowing balconies and turreted roof of Les Airelles look as though they have stood here for a century. Their story actually begins in the run-up to the Albertville Winter Olympics, with a woman from Moûtiers and her particular idea of a mountain hotel.
An idea born above the valley
Raymonde Fenestraz grew up in Moûtiers, down in the valley. In 1988 she set about transforming a 1960s hotel in the Jardin Alpin. Working with architect Richard Ferbach, she drew on Central Europe for its turrets, painted façades and deep wooden balconies. The doors opened in 1990. Two winters later, the house records, the hotel served as the Olympic committee’s headquarters during the Albertville Games.
The façade rewards a look in daylight, when the painted details are easiest to see. Come evening, the pattern that stands out is the succession of lighted windows between the trees.
A bedroom at snow level
Downstairs, chairs in different colours form little circles by the sitting-room windows. The Jardin Alpin Junior Suite takes the same warmth into a more intimate space. Timber panelling reaches right down to the bedside and a narrow band of red frames the foot of the bed. The suite sits at snow level. From the balcony the view is of the trees beside the piste, a lovely choice if you prefer a forest close at hand to a distant valley panorama.
From the pastry bench to the rotisserie
Breakfast at La Table des Airelles starts with the work of the tourier, the pastry chef who rolls and folds the dough for the morning viennoiseries. At lunchtime, shellfish and meats from the rotisserie take their place. Adrien Trouilloud returned to his native Savoie after working in Paris and London. He has led the hotel’s kitchens since 2023. In fine weather, the terrace gives lunch a view of the peaks.
The last room before the slopes
The upholstered benches in the Bernard Orcel ski room serve a very practical purpose. Guests can sit to have their boots fitted, collect their skis by the slope and hand their equipment back at the end of the day. The ski room is for residents. For a day visit, arrange lunch with La Table des Airelles directly. The hotel announces its winter reopening on 4 December 2026.
The Bernard Orcel ski roomSeason announcement from the hotel
Arriving at the Jardin Alpin
These routes follow the valley through Albertville and Moûtiers before climbing to Courchevel 1850. Allow extra time on winter Saturdays, when traffic can make the last stretch slower than the mileage suggests.
- Lyon Saint-Exupéry · Terminal 1 · ≈ 191 kmView route →
- Chambéry Savoie Mont Blanc · terminal taxi rank · ≈ 114 kmView route →
- Geneva Airport · terminal bus stop · ≈ 193 kmView route →
Approximate road distances to the hotel approach, calculated on 9 November 2026. The route may vary with snow conditions and the pickup point. Locate the hotel.